Here, Messi will meet his special friend, the famous player Andres Iniesta. Iniesta is currently 39 years old, playing for Emirates Club in the UAE. The 2010 World Cup champion with the Spanish national team, has played for Vissel Kobe for more than 5 years, and considers this place his home after Barcelona.
Messi and Iniesta (right) are very close teammates at Barcelona
Messi and Iniesta are very close teammates at Barcelona. They have played together for many years and won many glories. Although he is busy playing for Emirates Club, Iniesta was allowed to return to Tokyo to meet Messi and watch the match between Inter Miami and Vissel Kobe.
On his personal Instagram account, Iniesta announced that he returned to Tokyo on February 5 and was waiting for Messi and his teammates.
According to AS (Spain): "Messi is completely comfortable when coming to Tokyo, despite the controversy of not playing in Hong Kong that has caused much criticism. The Argentine star is suffering from a calf muscle injury, and it is currently unclear whether he will be able to return to play in the match against Vissel Kobe or not. Inter Miami club also did not confirm the possibility of both Messi and striker Suarez playing, after both missed the match in Hong Kong."
In Inter Miami's five pre-season MLS 2024 training matches so far, Messi has not played the full 90 minutes of any match. The last match he played was just a few minutes at the end of a 0-6 loss to Al Nassr on February 2. Before that, in a 3-4 loss to Al Hilal on January 30, with Messi and Suarez both scoring for the first time in 2024, he played from the start and left the field in the 88th minute. After the match with Al Hilal, Inter Miami announced just hours before the match with Al Nassr that Messi was injured and was only on the bench.
Messi and his teammates at Inter Miami have arrived in Tokyo.
"Messi's injury is certain. That's why coach Tata Martino and Inter Miami President David Beckham cannot risk putting their precious asset on the field. Moreover, these are just training matches. Messi and Inter Miami still have a long season ahead, so if they still put this famous player on the field for commercial reasons, it will easily lead to a worse outcome," AS newspaper assessed.
After the match against Vissel Kobe on February 7, Messi and his teammates at Inter Miami will return to the United States to continue their friendly match against Newell's Old Boys (Argentina) on February 15. Messi and his teammates will play the opening match of the 2024 MLS season against Real Salt Lake at home on February 22.
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